Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

Chapter 61: Rio: You’re Truly Something Else

Watching the scene, Rio had to admit—he felt no pity.

For some reason, it was deeply satisfying. So satisfying he could cry.

Damn you—you want to play tough with me?! Go ahead! Play tough! I tried to be nice and talk to you, but you wouldn’t listen. You forced me to use violence. So I sent in the god of violence—my big brother Primeape!

Today, either you go down, or I kneel before you.

A few minutes later.

Primeape had calmed down. The Red Gyarados was unconscious.

Looking at the unconscious Gyarados, Rio had only one word: Satisfying!

So this is what venting feels like—this good, this refreshing.

"Alright, you bastard—can you finally listen to me properly now?" Rio pulled out a Revival Herb and fed it to the Red Gyarados.

Before long, the Red Gyarados opened its eyes. The first thing it saw was Rio’s smiling face.

"Gyarados, now you—"

"ROAR!!!"

Before he could finish, it was charging another Hyper Beam.

Rio’s smile froze instantly.

SMACK! Without a word, he slapped Primeape hard on the head.

"Primeape—it growled at me!"

Primeape, who had just calmed down, felt its rage surge back instantly.

"Pu-cha~" It punched the Red Gyarados square in the mouth, knocking the partially charged Hyper Beam off course, then grabbed its tail and started thrashing it again.

"You’re truly something else."

"You were beaten into a pulp just now, and you’re still fighting me?" Rio gritted his teeth in frustration.

He couldn’t understand it. This Gyarados was practically beaten to death—and it still wouldn’t back down. How stubborn could a Pokémon be? Was it reincarnated as a stubborn mule?

[Gyarados’s friendship increased.]

[Friendship: 11 (from -20 to 11)]

"Wait—" Rio’s frustrated expression froze.

"Friendship increased?! Am I seeing this right?!"

He stared at the Red Gyarados, eyes wide as saucers. He double-checked the friendship value floating above its head—yes, it had really gone from 10 to 11.

He was stunned.

Then another notification appeared:

[Gyarados’s friendship increased.]

[Friendship: 12 (from -20 to 12)]

"Did this Red Gyarados get its brain scrambled by its awakened ancient genes? Or does it have PTSD? How is its friendship increasing from this?!"

"Incredible—you’ve successfully shown me that the world is full of wonders."

Rio felt like he had opened a door to a new world. From now on, whenever Primeape lost its temper, he could just let it take it out on the Red Gyarados. That way, he could sleep peacefully at night without fearing a midnight punch to the face.

Perfect! Absolutely perfect!

This Red Gyarados was worth every bit of trouble—he’d found a solution to a problem he’d been racking his brain over. One wanted to hit, the other wanted to be hit. What a match made in heaven!

Soon, Primeape’s anger subsided again. Exhausted, it plopped down on the beach to rest. The Red Gyarados lay unconscious on the sand once more.

This time, as Rio looked at its prone form, he noticed its expression seemed almost... pleasured.

"Definitely a glutton for punishment."

He pulled out another Revival Herb and fed it to the Gyarados. When it woke up, it stared at Primeape resting on the beach, then turned to Rio and began charging a Hyper Beam again. But this time, Rio recalled it before it could fire.

A few seconds later, he released it again—and immediately recalled it. Over and over, a dozen times.

Then, he suddenly stopped recalling it.

The Red Gyarados took four or five seconds to realize what was happening. Just as it started to charge another beam, Rio spoke first:

"You want another beating, don’t you? If you fire another Hyper Beam at me, I won’t fight you—I’ll just keep recalling and releasing you endlessly. We’ll see who outlasts whom."

The energy in the Gyarados’s mouth faded.

Rio continued: "If you don’t want that, then listen to me. Whenever you’re itching for a beating, I’ll have Primeache give you one."

"Pu-cha~" Primeape, resting on the beach, looked up in confusion and scratched its head with its massive fist. What does Rio mean? That dumb dragon gets a beating from me as a reward?

"ROAR!" — Deal.

To Primeape’s surprise, the red brute nodded.

Rio clapped his hands together, beaming with satisfaction. Both parties seemed perfectly happy with the arrangement—using a beating from Primeape as a reward.

"Pu-cha~" — Is the world going crazy?

Primeape scratched its head again. It was sure it was fully conscious, but the conversation it had just heard sounded like something only a delirious mind could conjure.

"Then it’s settled—whenever you’re feeling itchy for a fight, I’ll give you one. You behave and listen to me from now on."

"ROAR!"

"Great. Then I’ll give you one right now—I need your help later."

"ROAR!"

"SMACK! Primeape—hit it!"

"Pu-cha~"

Twenty minutes later.

Rio returned to the hotel and asked the owner to rent him diving equipment.

At that moment, the owner was chatting idly with the bronze-skinned young man.